Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh): Taking a serious note of the contemptuous remarks made against it on social media, the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Tuesday ordered notice to 49 people including a Member of Parliament and a former Member of Legislative Assembly.
Hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by an advocate over the abusive postings against certain recent judgments of the high court, it directed that notices be issued to all such people.
Bapatla MP, Nandigam Suresh, former MLA Amanchi Krishna Mohan, both belonging to the ruling YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and 47 others were served notice. The court adjourned the hearing by three weeks.
Lakshmi Narayana, who filed the PIL, said for the last few days objectionable postings were uploaded on social media making abusive comments against the judges for certain judgments. The advocate said he was hurt over the attempts to turn the court into a political platform.
The petitioner said after the high court on May 22 ordered a CBI probe into manhandling of a suspended government doctor by Visakhapatnam police, several comments were made on the social media.
There were more objectionable comments by a section of social media users following judgments on May 22 which were seen as a setback to the government. In one case, the court set aside the government order for painting the public buildings in the colour of the ruling party flags and asked the Chief Secretary and two other senior officials to appear before it.
In another case, the court set aside the suspension of senior IPS officer A.B. Venkateswara Rao. The government had suspended him for alleged irregularities in procurement of defence equipment.
Criticising these judgments, some people over social media targeted the judges using vulgar language and attributed motives to them.
The high court received complaints from several advocates and other individuals about abusive postings and demanded action against those responsible for it.
(Inputs from IANS)
A timeline of events:
- 08.04.2020:The Andhra Pradesh government suspended a doctor after his video, complaining about a lack of protective gear and masks at a coronavirus faculty, went viral.
- 16.05.2020:Videos of Dr Sudhakar being manhandled by the Visakhapatnam Police was widely circulated on social media which grabbed the attention of the general public.
- 22.05.2020: The Andhra Pradesh High Court has directed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the alleged manhandling of Dr Sudhakar Rao by Visakhapatnam Police. The apex investigative agency has been asked to submit a report in this regard within 8 weeks.
- 22.05.2020: HC comes under heavy trolling By YSRC Fans. Ordering of the CBI probe into the Sudhakar case was heavily trolled in the social media.
- 23.05.2020:The former MLA of Chirala, Amanchi Krishna Mohan said the High Court shouldn't have ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation to probe the case of Dr. Sudhakar, even if the government has done a mistake. He opined that if the court orders for CBI inquiries for petty cases, the union government have to open the branches of CBI beside every police station in the state.
- 26.05.2020: The Andhra Pradesh High Court took suo motu cognizance of the adverse comments made against the judges and served notices on as many as 49 netizens who trolled the high court in the social media. The high court also served notices on YSR Congress party MP from Bapatla Nandigam Suresh and former MLA from Chirala Amanchi Krishna Mohan for making negative comments against the judgements. The court gave three weeks’ time to the respondents to file their replies. The court acted on a petition filed by an advocate in this regard.
Also read:India-China stand off in Ladakh is different and disturbing
